LAST GOODBYE / Ex-president eulogized in D.C. before final ride into California sunset / LAID TO REST: Ceremony ends weeklong outpouring of grief

Carla Marinucci, Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Political Writers

Published 6:00 am, Saturday, June 12, 2004

Photo: BRYAN CHAN

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Nancy Reagan, center, is joined by son Ron Reagan, left, son Michael Reagan, second from right, and daughter Patti Davis as she cries over the coffin bearing her husband former President during interment ceremonies for the former president at the Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., Friday, June 11, 2004. (AP Photo/Bryan Chan, Pool) less

Nancy Reagan, center, is joined by son Ron Reagan, left, son Michael Reagan, second from right, and daughter Patti Davis as she cries over the coffin bearing her husband former President during interment ... more

Photo: BRYAN CHAN

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President Bush pauses at the casket of former President after speaking during funeral services at the National Cathedral in Washington Friday, June 10, 2004. (AP Photo/)

President Bush pauses at the casket of former President after speaking during funeral services at the National Cathedral in Washington Friday, June 10, 2004. (AP Photo/)

Photo: CHARLES DHARAPAK

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President Bush escorts former first lady Nancy Reagan as she arrives at the National Cathedral in Washington Friday, June 10, 2004 for funeral services for former President . (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

President Bush escorts former first lady Nancy Reagan as she arrives at the National Cathedral in Washington Friday, June 10, 2004 for funeral services for former President . (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

Photo: RON EDMONDS

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President Bush speaks during funeral services for former President at the National Cathedral in Washington Friday, June 10, 2004. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Bush speaks during funeral services for former President at the National Cathedral in Washington Friday, June 10, 2004. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Photo: CHARLES DHARAPAK

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Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, left, former Britsh Prime Minister Margaret thatcher and former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney take part in funeral services for former President at the National Cathedral in Washington Friday, June 10, 2004. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) less

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, left, former Britsh Prime Minister Margaret thatcher and former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney take part in funeral services for former President at the ... more

Photo: CHARLES DHARAPAK

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President and Mrs. Bush sits with former presidents and their wives during during funeral services at the National Cathedral in Washington Friday, June 10, 2004 for former President Back row, from left are, George and Barbara Bush, Jimmy and Rossalyn Carter, Jerry and Betty Ford. Front row, from left are, George and Laura Bush, Vice Presidetn Dick Cheney and wife Lynne, and Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clin, D-N.Y. . (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds) less

President and Mrs. Bush sits with former presidents and their wives during during funeral services at the National Cathedral in Washington Friday, June 10, 2004 for former President Back row, from left are, ... more

Photo: RON EDMONDS

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The family of former President , from left, daughter Patti Davis, son Ron Reagan and Ron's wife Doria arrive for funeral services for the former president at the National Cathedral in Washington Friday, June 10, 2004. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool) less

The family of former President , from left, daughter Patti Davis, son Ron Reagan and Ron's wife Doria arrive for funeral services for the former president at the National Cathedral in Washington Friday, June ... more

Photo: SUSAN WALSH

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Nancy Reagan watches, at right, while former President 's coffin is brought down the steps of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, Friday, June 11, 2004. Escorting Mrs. Reagan is Maj. Gen. Galen Jackman. (AP Photo/Al Behrman) less

Nancy Reagan watches, at right, while former President 's coffin is brought down the steps of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, Friday, June 11, 2004. Escorting Mrs. Reagan is Maj. Gen. Galen Jackman. ... more

Michael Reagan, son of former President , speaks during interment ceremonies for the former president at the Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., Friday, June 11, 2004. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Michael Reagan, son of former President , speaks during interment ceremonies for the former president at the Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., Friday, June 11, 2004. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Patti Davis, left, Nancy Reagan, Maria Shriver, Arnold Schwazrenegger, and Margaret Thatcher during the interment ceremony for President Friday, June 11, 2004 at the Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. ... more

Photo: ANDREW WINNING

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Navy Capt. James A. Symonds, Commander of the USS , presents the flag to Nancy Reagan during interment ceremonies at the Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., Friday, June 11, 2004. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian) less

Navy Capt. James A. Symonds, Commander of the USS , presents the flag to Nancy Reagan during interment ceremonies at the Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., Friday, June 11, 2004. (AP Photo/Kevork ... more

Photo: KEVORK DJANSEZIAN

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LAST GOODBYE / Ex-president eulogized in D.C. before final ride into California sunset / LAID TO REST: Ceremony ends weeklong outpouring of grief

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2004-06-12 04:00:00 PDT Simi Valley, Ventura County -- Ending a poignant final pilgrimage in which he was mourned by world leaders and millions of average Americans, Ronald Wilson Reagan -- the nation's 40th president -- returned home to his beloved California on Friday, laid to rest facing west toward the setting sun.

The former president was buried on a hilltop at the Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, as the sunset painted an array of colors across the panorama of rolling hills, vineyards, and the sparkling coast of California, the state where he was twice-elected governor.

Reagan's body was laid in an elegant, curved limestone sepulcher facing the sea and marked with the presidential seal and a simple engraving: "I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph and there is purpose and worth to each and every life."

The California ceremony marked the end of a coast-to-coast weeklong outpouring of grief and affection for Reagan, who died last Saturday from complications related to a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 93.

Inside the library, many of the mourners - the graying friends and staff members who had worked for Reagan during his long political career -- said Friday they had come to see him through one final campaign.

"I'm relieved that his suffering is over," said former speechwriter Ken Khachigian.

Khachigian, who helped Reagan craft some of his most memorable speeches, said he was touched by the words of admiration being used to describe Reagan's spirit, optimism and his impact on history.

"It's all true," he said. "It was all true."

Earlier Friday, after Reagan's flag-draped casket was viewed for two days by tens of thousands of citizens in the Capitol Rotunda, the city of Washington, D.C., bid its last farewell with the tributes that so affected the late president's family, friends and supporters.

Even among this most jaded of crowds, bearing the world's most luminous dignitaries, tears welled during the morning service as the National Cathedral's 10-story stone walls trembled under its pipe organ and the Armed Forces Chorus rose in a thunderous, "Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!" to Reagan's casket, alone at the center of the room.

The tribute to Reagan's life carried all the emotional power, grandeur and solemnity of Washington's highest mourning, as well as tender flashes of the humor for which Reagan was famous.

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher -- Reagan's friend and political ally who defied her doctor's orders to attend the funeral -- gave a recorded tribute to the man she credited with ending the Cold War without firing a shot. Sitting next to her in the pew was the Soviet Union's last leader, Mikhail Gorbachev.

"Ronald Reagan was such a cheerful and invigorating presence that it was easy to forget what daunting historic tasks he set himself," Thatcher said. "He sought to mend America's wounded spirit, to restore the strength of the free world, and to free the slaves of communism. These were causes hard to accomplish and heavy with risk, yet they were pursued with almost a lightness of spirit, for Ronald Reagan also embodied another great cause, what Arnold Bennett once called the great cause of cheering us all up."

"As his vice president for eight years," Bush said as he fought back tears, "I learned more from Ronald Reagan than anyone I encountered in all my years of public life. I learned kindness -- we all did. I also learned courage -- the nation did.

"And then I learned decency -- the whole world did," Bush said. "And perhaps as important as anything, I learned about -- a lot about humor, a lot about laughter."

Bush recalled that when Reagan was asked how his visit with South African Bishop Desmond Tutu went, the president replied, "So-so." The room rang out in laughter.

"Ronald Reagan does not enter history tentatively; he does so with certainty and panache," said former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. "At home and on the world stage, his were not the pallid etchings of a timorous politician; they were the bold strokes of a confident and accomplished leader."

Then President Bush chronicled Reagan's life from his birth in a small Illinois town in 1911, through his Hollywood film career, his governorship of California and the White House.

Nodding to the four former presidents sitting before him -- his father, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton -- Bush said Reagan's moment arrived when he won the presidency in 1980. "He came out ahead of some very good men, including one from Plains and one from Houston," Bush said, referring to Carter, whom Reagan defeated for the presidency, and his father, whom Reagan defeated for the Republican nomination.

"Ronald Reagan belongs to the ages now, but we preferred it when he belonged to us," Bush said. "Now death has done all that death can do."

Reagan's widow, Nancy, sat shrouded in sadness -- broken sometimes by smiles when the eulogists recalled Reagan's humor -- as she has throughout the week of mourning, carrying out her final formal duty to her husband of 52 years under the most intense of spotlights. Through the long processions, she held the arm of her escort, Maj. Gen. Galen B. Jackman, a former Army Delta Ranger and commander of the Military District of Washington, which conducted the ceremonies.

Jackman gently guided Mrs. Reagan, who will turn 83 early next month, up the steps of the presidential jet for the final trip to her husband's burial in California. At the top, Mrs. Reagan waved one last time to the crowd.

On the way, the plane flew over Tampico, Ill., and - precisely at 3:08 p. m. CST, tipped its wings - a final salute to his hometown. The plane also flew over the library on its way to Point Mugu Naval Air Station for the final motorcade to the library and burial.

Wilson said he was "grateful" for the country's reaction the past week.

"He was owed that and a great deal more and I'm particularly grateful that Mrs. Reagan has been the recipient of all this affection," Wilson said.

As the sun set outside the library, Reagan's children delivered eulogies at the burial service.

"I knew him as dad," Michael Reagan said. " ... Not a whole lot is ever spoken about that side of Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan adopted me into his family in 1945. I was the chosen one. I was the lucky one."

Ron Reagan said, "My dad wrote, 'I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life.' This evening he has arrived. ... He lived a good, long life. The kind of life good men lead."

Mrs. Reagan's family was at her side through the week, her daughter, Patti Davis, sitting next to her at both of Friday's funeral services. Friends have said that despite a decade of caring for Reagan as he faded under Alzheimer's, which she described as a profoundly lonely experience, his death has come as a blow to her. She has traced her hand lovingly along the casket, and kissed it.

As she touched and kissed the casket for the last time Friday evening, holding the folded American flag that had covered it, Mrs. Reagan began to cry. Her children moved to her, supported her with hugs, and slowly, gently, helped her from the casket and back to Jackman, who escorted her away from the sepulcher.

Davis, a Los Angeles writer, who reconciled with her parents after a long estrangement, wrote two intimate essays, one in Newsweek and one to appear in People magazine, about her father's death.

"At the last moment, when his breathing told us this was it, he opened his eyes and looked straight at my mother," Davis wrote. "Eyes that hadn't opened in days did, and they weren't chalky or vague. They were clear and blue and full of love. 'The greatest gift you could have given me,' my mother said."

Paying their last respects

PRESIDENT BUSH

On his legacy: "Ronald Reagan belongs to the ages now, but we preferred it when he belonged to us (a paraphrase of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton at Abraham Lincoln's death)."

On liberty: "He was optimistic that liberty would thrive wherever it was

planted, and he acted to defend liberty wherever it was threatened. ... When he saw evil camped across the horizon, he called that evil by its name."

FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH

On serving Reagan: "As his vice president for eight years, I learned more from Ronald Reagan than from anyone I encountered in all my years of public life.

I learned kindness; we all did. I also learned courage; the nation did."

On the reaction: "When Franklin Roosevelt died in 1945, the New York Times wrote, 'Men will thank God 100 years from now that Franklin D. Roosevelt was in the White House.' It will not take 100 years to thank God for Ronald Reagan."

FORMER BRITISH / PRIME MINISTER MARGARET THATCHER

On his spirit: "In his lifetime Ronald Reagan was such a cheerful and invigorating presence that it was easy to forget what daunting historic tasks he set himself. He sought to mend America's wounded spirit, to restore the strength of the free world, and to free the slaves of communism. These were causes hard to accomplish and heavy with risk. Yet they were pursued with almost a lightness of spirit. For Ronald Reagan also embodied another great cause -- what Arnold Bennett once called 'the great cause of cheering us all up.' "

On his success: "His politics had a freshness and optimism that won converts from every class and every nation -- and ultimately from the very heart of the evil empire."

FORMER CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER BRIAN MULRONEY

On Reagan's wife: "Out stepped Nancy (Reagan) and Mila (Mulroney) -- looking like a million bucks. As they headed towards us, President Reagan beamed, threw his arm around my shoulder and said with a grin: 'You know, Brian, for two Irishmen we sure married up.' "

FORMER MISSOURI SEN. JOHN DANFORTH

On his integrity: "What Ronald Reagan asked of America, he gave of himself. The great American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr wrote 'Children of Light and The Children of Darkness.' If ever we have known a child of light, it was Ronald

Reagan. He was aglow with it. He had no dark side, no scary, hidden agenda. What you saw, was what you got. And what you saw was that sure sign of inner light, the twinkle in the eye."

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